Zimmerman’s Acquittal and the Call for a New Civil Rights
MovementBy Mark Vorpahl

July 16, 2013
"Information
Clearing House -
George Zimmerman has been found innocent of both second-degree
murder and manslaughter for the killing of Trayvon Martin. In
spite of Zimmerman’s history as a neighborhood watchman
employing racial profiling; in spite of the fact that he was
armed with a gun and Trayvon was not; in spite of the fact that
he stalked Trayvon in a way that anyone would find threatening;
in spite of his recorded menacing comments about “f…king punks,”
that “these assholes always get away”; and in spite of his
defiance of a 911 operator who told him he did not need to
follow Trayvon, Zimmerman is free.

On the
other hand, Trayvon has been found guilty. In dropping all
charges against Zimmerman, the jury concluded that Trayvon had
thrown the first punch in response to Zimmerman’s threatening
behavior, and therefore Zimmerman was justified in shooting him
in self-defense.

If only it
could be said that a more perverse and twisted miscarriage of
justice by our legal system was hard to find. Agonizingly, it is
not. For millions of people this tragic affair was never simply
about a confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin. It was the
United States justice system that was on trial under charges of
institutional racism — and it has proven itself guilty.

To begin
to appreciate the significance of this, some context is
necessary. A study by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement,
entitled “Operation
Ghetto Storm” revealed:

“In July
2012, in the tradition of ‘On Lynching’ by Ida B. Wells-Burnet
and ‘We Charge Genocide’ by William L. Patterson, the Malcolm X
Grassroots Movement released a critical report that exposed the
fact that in the first six months of the year a Black man,
woman, or child was summarily executed by the police, and a
smaller number of security guards and self-appointed vigilantes,
Every 36 Hours! But the July 2012 report did not tell the whole
story. Further investigation revealed a more accurate and
gruesome number of extrajudicial killings during the first six
months of the year. And true to form, the assault on Black life
stayed consistent for the last six months of the year, resulting
in the extrajudicial killing of at least 313 Black people in
2012, or one every 28 Hours!”

These
killings, without pretext or legal consequences, demonstrate
that the stormy reactions following Trayvon’s murder and
Zimmerman’s initial release without charges weren’t the result
of an outrageous break from how the U.S. justice system
operates. Rather, it was because the tragedy was yet another
example of this system’s outrageous racist norm.

During the
initial wave of mass protests against Trayvon Martin’s murder in
2012, many chanted and carried signs saying, “I am Trayvon
Martin.” For black participants this was more than an expression
of solidarity. It was an acknowledgement of the racist reality
that they too could easily meet a similar fate to Trayvon’s —
that is, becoming a victim of state sanctioned murder.

Authorities initially expected Zimmerman’s murder of Trayvon to
disappear from the radar as he walked free. That is the normal
script for how such incidents play out. However, the recording
of Zimmerman’s 911 call was too dramatic for the press to let
slip away.

The tape
and Zimmerman’s release without charge sparked a national wave
of protests that included the peaceful shutdown of the Sanford
Police Department for five hours. And the impact of the public’s
reaction brought results. Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee was
forced to resign. The Federal Justice Department’s Civil Rights
Division opened an investigation to the killing.

If it were
not for the mass reaction, Zimmerman never would have been put
on trial. With 313
black people killed by police, some security guards, and
self-appointed vigilantes in 2012 without legal consequence, the
wave of protest following Trayvon’s killing is the main factor
explaining why events here took a different turn.

Those in
power were forced to change their tactics in order to contain
popular revolt. The importance of this cannot be overestimated
despite the trial’s outcome. What the trial revealed is that the
system of racial oppression in this country is not all-powerful.
It can be challenged and ultimately overturned. It also revealed
that what is required to move this process forward is a campaign
of mass organizing — with a political perspective that
demonstrates a clear path for judicial change if the grassroots
can be mobilized to confront our oppressors.

We need an
ongoing mass civil rights movement with the power to pull out
racism from the political and economic foundations of the U.S.
by its roots. That power can only be built by unifying the vast
majority against an economic elite which controls the political
system and profits from blacks’ oppression. The mass protests
that will erupt in response to Zimmerman’s acquittal can act as
a springboard for such a movement, as long as participants
understand the need to commit themselves to the long-haul
struggle.

The NAACP
is urging Attorney General Eric Holder to open up a civil rights
case against Zimmerman. By itself, this is an impotent plea.
However, combined with a sustained campaign of mass actions —
not only for justice for Trayvon, but as a challenge to the
racist norm of the U.S. legal system — this approach may bear
fruit.

The only
certainty is that we cannot sit at home and let the courts work
through their process. We must mobilize and organize to assert
popular power independent of the courts and corporate Democrat
and Republican parties if we are to create a world where Trayvon,
and the millions he has come to represent, can thrive without
fear.

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